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An exploration of the wide, expansive nature of God through the study of scripture.
"This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" Romans 8:15

Being Rich

Focus passage: The
Pharisees, who were money-lovers, heard all of this and sneered at Jesus.He said to them, “You are the ones who
justify yourselves before other people, but God knows your hearts.What is highly valued by people is deeply
offensive to God.” Luke 16:14-15

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a response
to the Pharisees “who were money-lovers.”The rich man in the story is over the top in his wealth and
self-centeredness and so we might think to ourselves. “I’m so glad I am not like
him.”I am not wealthy like him and I’m
not at the other end of the spectrum with Lazarus.

But as soon as I distance myself from the rich man,
reality seeps in and I find myself asking, did you have to walk miles this
morning to get clean drinking water for your family?

No.I just
turned on my tap.

On a weekly basis I also go through the ritual of cleaning
out my fridge which results in throwing away food that has gone bad.And I think about if my family was really in
need then we wouldn’t have an excess of food in our home.

On a global scale even those who are living on welfare
in our country are rich.

But there are also many who are homeless, many who have
to choose housing over feeding their families in our country.Many who have to make really hard decisions
that my family doesn’t have to make.

And it is when I wake up and realize this; I can see
that I am much more like the rich man in the parable than I would like to
admit.I have to then ask myself am I
being a good faithful steward of all that I have to help in God’s Kingdom
work?Do I see the poor in my community
and help work to create lasting change and not just react to emergency
situations?

The parable forces us to ask not just if we love God
more than money with our heart but if our actions demonstrate a love for God
more than money.

Thoughts?

Prayer: God this week open my eyes to the poor in my
neighborhood. Amen.

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I am in my seventh year of ministry here in El Paso! I am excited to see how God is using the faith community at FCC. Together we are deepening our relationship with God and one another and reaching out to our community and beyond!